A number of fake accounts impersonating Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) topper Shruti Sharma, have cropped up overnight on Twitter after the final results for 2021 were announced on Monday.
BOOM reached out to Sharma, who secured an All India Rank .1 (AIR 1) in the competitive examination, and was able to confirm that her Twitter account is @shrutisharma986.
This means, over 10 accounts operating in her name on Twitter, are fake.
Sharma, an alumnus of Delhi's St. Stephens College and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) prepared for UPSC Civil Services exam at Jamia Millia Islamia Residential Coaching Academy.
According to the Indian Express, she wishes to join the Indian Administration Services (IAS). Along with Sharma, two other women Ankita Agarwal and Gamini Singla have secured the top three positions.
ALSO READ: UPSC Civil Services Exam Results: Here Are The Toppers
Will The Real Shruti Sharma, Please Stand Up
Twitter has been plagued by fake profiles impersonating famous individuals for several years now, for example fake profiles of actors, politicians and sport persons. BOOM has done several fact checks in the past calling out such fake accounts that violate Twitter's impersonation policy.
Since the declaration of UPSC results on Monday, a number of fake handles pretending to be Shruti Sharma have been created.
A search for 'IAS Shruti Sharma' showed 11 fake accounts at the time of writing this fact check. Many of the handles had zero to 20-30 followers. The accounts have used a near identical photo of Sharma that was published by news outlets on Monday.
One of the accounts has also incorrectly claimed that she stood first in 2019 rather than the 2021 examination.
Nearly 13,000 Accounts Are Following A Fake Account - @IAS_ShrutiShrma
The most notable fake account among these is @IAS_ShrutiShrma, that has spelt 'Sharma' as 'Shrma' in the handle name. An archive of the account can be seen here.
The account, which was created in April this year, had already gained over 12,000 followers on the platform. A look through the 21 accounts it is following shows the fake handle is following news outlets, politicians and the IPS Association's official handle.
The bio of the account fails to mention that it is a fan account and instead states 'Proud Jnuite | Air Rank 1 Upsc Cse 2021 | student From RCA Jamia, St. Stephens College'.
The fake account has tweeted photos taken by news outlets of Shruti Sharma celebrating her success with her family.
It also retweeted tweets congratulating her.
Shruti Sharma's Real Account
BOOM reached out to Sharma and was able to confirm that @shrutisharma986 is her actual account. Sharma created the account in January 2016, and has been fairly inactive. The account also includes photos of her that have not been published by the media.
Usually one looks at the handle name, spelling, account creation date, account activity and photos if any, to spot a fake handle. An account that has been recently created should be treated suspiciously. Similarly, an account that is only tweeting photos already on the internet, is also a good indicator that the account might be fake. The images can be verified through a reverse image search. Another method of verifying the authenticity of the account is to use Twitter's Advanced search function and look for replies from other accounts to the targeted profile.
Additional reporting by Runjay Kumar